SAFFORD — Commercial air service between Safford and Phoenix could become a reality very soon.
Airport officials announced on social media Thursday that the city has received an $800,000 grant to bring commercial air service to the community.
Safford is one of 14 cities to receive the grant and the only city in Arizona.
The grant is made possible under the Small Community Air Service Development Program, which requires that the airport is no larger than a small hub airport, and it has insufficient air carrier service or unreasonably high air fares.
In the grant announcement, the U.S. Department of Transportation said, “The community has put in place a strong public-private partnership and is providing very substantial local funding. Advanced Air and Grand Canyon Airlines have provided letters of support for the project.”
Advanced Air is a regional carrier serving the Southwestern United States, including Las Vegas, Phoenix Albuquerque and Oakland; as well smaller communities such as Silver City and Las Cruces, N.M.; Merced and Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; and Henderson, Nev.
Grand Canyon Airlines offers tours of the Grand Canyon and flies to Boulder City, Nev. It also offers charter flights to Scottsdale, Sedona and Las Vegas.
In the announcement, Safford Airport officials said, “(T)his grant will enable the city to contract with a small airline to provide daily flights between Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Safford.”
The city has not yet announced a timeline on when commercial flights might begin.
